


hearts will be glowing

by shybear_styles



Category: Formula 1 RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Neighbors, Christmas Cookies, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, M/M, charles is crushing hard, so is Max, soft boys in love, stress made him do it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-02
Updated: 2021-02-02
Packaged: 2021-03-14 03:14:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,903
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29164044
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shybear_styles/pseuds/shybear_styles
Summary: Charles is going to use his very delicious cookies to seduce his neighbor.
Relationships: Charles Leclerc/Max Verstappen
Comments: 6
Kudos: 66





	hearts will be glowing

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Ledger_m](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ledger_m/gifts).



> I don't even know, y'all. I needed something dumb and cute to make me forget about life, so I wrote this and Kamila said, once again, that I should post it, WHICH I FIND VERY HYPOCRITICAL OF HER, CAUSE SHE NEVER LISTENS WHEN I TELL HER TO POST SOMETHING. But okay, I need validation from strangers to feel better about myself and cave every single time.
> 
> Hope you guys enjoy this!

Charles might have gone a little overboard with the cookies.

In his defense, they’re Christmas cookies and you can never have enough of those, but yeah, there’s no way he’ll be able to eat all of this by himself. He’s been so stressed at work for so long, the end-of-the-year presentations and projects needing to be wrapped up completely drowning him and he needed to do something to relax, and he’s nowhere good enough at playing the piano yet to be able to spend hours on it; besides, his poor neighbors don’t deserve that kind of torture on a Saturday.

So he decided to bake Christmas cookies. He always enjoyed that particular tradition when he was still living at home with his parents and brothers and he’s kept that up since moving out, sometimes taking a batch to work to share with people or giving some to his friends. This year, however, he’s not going to do any of that. He has a _plan._

It’s a slightly silly plan and if Pierre ever finds out about this he’ll probably pull a muscle from laughing so hard at Charles, but he’s going to use his very delicious cookies to seduce his neighbor. True, he didn’t plan on making quite this many, and he has creepily stared out the window and watched the other man come and go on his morning runs enough times to assume that he’s dedicated to keeping in shape, so there’s a chance that he’ll just get a polite “no, thanks” in return for his actions, but he’s willing to try.

His neighbor, Max, moved into the building about 3 months ago and Charles has had an embarrassing crush on him since the very first day, when he saw the way the other man’s arms looked while carrying some heavy-looking boxes into his apartment. The fact that they live on the same floor doesn’t help, and pretty much every time they cross paths Charles is left blushing and stuttering like a schoolgirl.

There’s just something about Max that takes his breath anyway. And yes, there’s no denying that he’s stupidly attractive and Charles has had many fantasies about how the other man would look like on his bed or above him, those broad shoulders caging him in and those strong arms holding him down, but it’s not just that; the way Max’s entire face lights up when he laughs, his beautiful blue eyes shining with happiness and crinkling from how big his smile is and the way he always makes silly jokes that make Charles let out his really embarrassing squeaky laugh and looks proud for it just makes the Monégasque’s whole body go warm.

Unfortunately, they’ve never interacted outside of their building, but Charles is determined to change that and the first step is to win the other man over with cookies. He slept late today to try and recover from his hellish week at work, so he doesn’t know for sure whether Max is home right now, but going by what he knows of him, he’s willing to bet that he is. 

He’s just finished icing the cookies and they look pretty good, in addition to doing wonders to relax him, the action of baking and decorating them making his mind go blissfully blank for the last couple of hours, nothing but the music coming from his phone to keep him company.

He chooses the best looking ones and puts them on a tupperware, stops by the hallway mirror to adjust his bandanna and make sure that his hair still looks presentable after spending so much time in the heat of the kitchen, cleans his glasses for the third time since he started cooking and takes a deep breath before leaving the apartment and ringing Max’s doorbell.

His heart is racing in his chest, hands a little sweaty and he tries to remember the speech he prepared while in the shower a few hours ago, but his mind is going blank. This is a terrible idea, he should run back inside and forget about this, because there’s no way that his stupid plan is actually going to work.

“Charles, hey.” Max’s voice brings him out of his head and he blinks, staring at the man in front of him. Max is wearing grey sweatpants and a light blue shirt that looks well-worn and soft, and Charles’ fingers itch to touch him. “Holy shit, you’re the reason for the amazing smell that has been driving me crazy for an hour!”

“Ah… Sorry?” He asks sheepishly and his neighbor laughs, making Charles’ stupid heart actually skip a beat.

“Mate, don’t apologize. I dunno what made you bake cookies today, but it smells so good.” He replies with a smile and Charles is _doomed_.

“I made a lot of them and thought you might want some?” He raises his hands to show the tupperware, watching the surprised look on Max’s face as his gaze flickers between Charles’ hands and face. “You don’t have to, of course, I don’t even know if you eat these things, but I figured it might be nice? Or not, sorry, I’ll leave you alone.”

“Charles,” The Dutchman cuts off his rambling and Charles can feel how wide his eyes are right now. “That’s really nice of you, thank you. I’m sure they’re delicious and I’ll eat every single one of them. Besides, who doesn’t like cookies?”

“It’s just that I know you’re really dedicated to your exercises and stuff and you might not want to indulge on this much sugar…” He clams up when he realizes that he pretty much confessed to stalking the other man, feeling an intense blush taking over his face as Max’s eyebrows raise in question. “I mean… I’ve seen you running a few times in the morning and, yeah, I assumed that you exercise. I obviously don’t know that for sure, it’s not like I’m watching your every move or anything.”

This is the most embarrassing moment of his _life,_ and he’s done some pretty embarrassing shit before. Max will never want to speak to him again after this disaster, he should go back to his apartment and hide for the rest of the year.

“Yeah,” The other man laughs ruefully. “I like to eat, but I also gain weight easily, so running is the least torturing way to stay in shape. I try to do, like, push-ups and stuff, but I hate it with a passion.” Charles can’t help the way his eyes trace Max’s arms and shoulders, thinking that whatever it is he does works really well for him. He is an easy man when it comes to pretty things, and Max is one of the prettiest he has ever seen. “But I’ll never turn down homemade cookies, mate, that’s criminal.”

“Oh, well, I hope you like them.” He gives a small smile and extends his hands to offer the cookies. Max reaches out to take them, their hands brushing a little and making Charles’ fingers tingle, and they stay like that for a few seconds, hands touching and staring into each other’s eyes until Charles snaps out of his daze and looks away. “I’m gonna…” He points to his apartment door behind him and looks up briefly. “They’re still a little warm, in case you want to eat them right away.”

“Wanna join me?” Max blurts out and he’s the one who seems to be blushing now. “I mean… You cooked them, you probably have a lot at home to eat, but we could hang out a little? If you want, of course.”

Charles nods and gives him a small smile, stepping inside the other man’s apartment and trying not to be too obvious about how curious he is about it. He’s seen glimpses of it before, but actually being in it, seeing how Max decorated the space and made it his own feels strangely intimate.

“Do you want to drink something? I don’t know what goes well with cookies besides alcohol, to be honest. Or, you know, milk.” Max’s hands are fidgeting at little and Charles wonders if the other man is actually nervous right now.

“Just some water, please. It’s probably too early to start drinking…”

“It’s happy hour somewhere.” The Dutchman says with a cheeky smile and Charles can’t contain the loud laugh that escapes. “But yes, let’s stick to water for now.”

 _For now, what the fuck?_

Does that mean that they’re still going to be together later? Or is it just a figure of speech? Charles doesn’t know how to react, so he just stands awkwardly by the couch while the other man retreats to the kitchen after leaving the cookies at the center table. He looks around as discreetly as possible, noticing the gaming console by the TV and the many pictures scattered throughout the room.

Max comes back with two glasses and tells him to get comfortable, so he tries to do just that, settling himself at one end of the couch while the other man takes the other, cookies between them.

After a couple of minutes it becomes easy for Charles to forget some of his nervousness and just enjoy the conversation. They talk about work, their plans for the holidays and other small things that make the Monégasque feel even more relaxed than he was after the hours spent preparing the cookies. Max is fun and he makes Charles laugh and he feels a little burst of pride whenever he manages to do the same to the other man.

After they’ve eaten almost half of the cookies, Max gets up to refill their glasses again and Charles is left staring dreamily at him, until his neighbor calls out his name. Presuming that he’s being called, he doesn’t answer, standing up and making his way over.

He turns the corner to the kitchen and bumps into Max, hands reaching out on instinct to hold onto the other man’s arms. They’re standing awfully close together, Max’s arms having come up to grab his torso when they collided and he can see every speck of color in his blue eyes.

“You smell like cookies.” There’s something seriously wrong in Charles’s brain, because that sentence should not make his stomach clench with arousal. To be fair, the fact that Max is standing so close to him probably isn’t helping.

He’s speechless, tongue darting out to lick his suddenly dry lips and seeing Max’s eyes track the movement makes the skin at the back of his neck prickle. There’s _no way_ he’s reading this wrong, and, feeling a surge of confidence, he decides to take a leap and risk it.

He moves one of his hands up Max’s arms, enjoying the feel of his muscles and skin, touching the soft material of his shirt, before cupping his neck gently. Their eyes are locked together and Charles feels a little breathless, but he goes for it, closing the space between them and his eyes, pressing his lips against Max’s softly and feeling his heart pounding in his chest as he waits for the Dutchman to react.

Thankfully, he doesn’t have to wait long; the hands holding on to him tighten and Max presses back, tilting his head to change the angle and Charles lets out a shaky breath.

The kiss is soft, their mouths moving gently and the Monégasque feels like the only thing keeping him tethered to the earth are Max’s hands on his body, fingers stroking his skin over the shirt he’s wearing and making goosebumps rise on his entire body.

Feeling Max pull back, Charles opens his eyes. The other man is still close, face flushed and Charles is sure he’s not much better.

“That was nice,” Max murmurs, almost like he’s trying not to break the moment. He looks a little hesitant, but there’s the beginning of a smile on his face and Charles is powerless to resist him.

“I’ve never had a kiss that tasted like Christmas cookies.” Charles admits and gets a little blown away by watching Max laugh so freely just a few centimeters away from his face. 

“Me neither. I liked it.” The other man says softly.

They’re still pressed up together, Max’s hands wrapped around his waist and Charles’ touching his arm and neck. The younger man can’t help but let his fingers move over the skin not covered by Max’s shirt, tracing it gently before realizing what he’s doing and pulling back.

“I’ve thought about doing that a lot.” The Dutchman says in a low voice and Charles looks back at him, startled. He looks a little shy, but honest.

“You have?” He can’t help but ask, surprise making his voice go high at the end.

“Of course I have. How could I not, when you look like _that?_ ” One of Max’s hands comes up to touch the fabric holding his hair back. “You’re always walking around with your glasses and these bandannas and you look so fucking good.”

“Even better than the cookies?” Charles asks to try and hide the fact that he is literally dying right now.

“So much better than the cookies, you have no idea.” Is Max’s earnest reply. Well, fuck.

Completely speechless, the only thing that Charles can do is surge forward for another kiss, this one a little heavier than the first and Max reacts right away, fingers tangling in Charles’ hair to keep him close.

He loses track of time as they trade kisses, the muffled noises they let out and heavy breathing the only sound in the room until they pull apart to stare at each other again. Max’s lips look even fuller than usual, reddened by what they just did and his gaze is so intense that Charles feels a shiver down his back.

He’s not sure where to go from here, though. His plan only went so far as charming Max with his baking skills and leaving the door open for another moment of casual “oh, I made so many of these and thought I’d share it with you again”, but they’ve spent who knows how long talking and shared some pretty nice kisses for him to be able to just say goodbye and run back to his apartment, but he doesn’t know what to say now; should he try to play it cool and go back to the living room? Should he try asking the older man out on a date, now that they’ve established that there’s _something_ between them?

“Wanna go back to the living room? There are still some cookies left.” Max asks, snapping him out of his reverie. He’s cradling Charles’ face gently in his hand now and the Monégasque feels like his insides are melting. He can only nod, tongue tied in the face of the previous minutes, watching the smile on Max’s face as he pulls back and drops both hands and Charles has to work really hard to hold back the disappointed sigh from leaving his lips. 

He watches as Max picks up their forgotten glasses and nods his head in the direction of the living room, waiting until Charles starts moving to follow him out. His nervousness is back in full force and he doesn’t want to ruin their afternoon by being awkward, but he has no idea what to do now. So he settles back on the couch, a little closer to the middle than earlier and accepts the glass that is offered to him.

“This is a little awkward… I don’t really know what to say right now, but I don’t wanna make things weird between us.” Charles’ brain is going haywire trying to figure out if that’s the start of a good or bad sentence, but Max doesn’t say anything else.

“Well,” He starts, gathering up the courage to say what he feels. “I really like you, obviously, and I think you like me too?” He can’t help but turn that into a question, and when the Dutchman nods in agreement, he continues. “So… Maybe we could try doing this again sometime? Or going on a proper date, ‘cause I’d really like to take you out. If you want, of course.” He rushes to add and braces himself.

“A date would be nice.” Max replies with a smile and Charles breathes a sigh of relief. “And I wouldn’t say no to doing this again either, these cookies are _really_ good.” He laughs and Charles couldn’t hold back his pleased smile even if he wanted to.

“There’s plenty more where they came from.” 

“Why, are you trying to get me into your apartment, Charles?” The other man asks slyly and the Monégasque squeaks. 

“No! Or at least not now. Maybe after our date.” He winks, delighted when Max’s face starts going red.

“Well, then. I can’t wait.” 

They spend probably another hour or two talking on the couch, eventually putting the cookies away and moving closer to each other. It’s the best day Charles’ had in weeks and when he leaves, getting a kiss from the other man and knowing that they’ll see each other for a date in three days, he tries and fails to remember the last time he felt so happy just from being in the company of another person.

Maybe he should bake a pie next week before leaving to spend the holidays with his family, he’s sure Max will appreciate it.


End file.
